Hunger Games: A New World
by Pen1
Summary: After the rebellion, life still goes on at least for Katniss. But when Gale and his Expeditionary Force discovers something on their quest for the countries that existed before Panem's time, her life will be changed...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am 17 years old. I was a Victor in the 74th Hunger Games, a terrible thing that turned young precious children into killers. It almost turned me into one, except that it left scars in me that take forever to disappear. I won by threatening to swallow some nightlock with Peeta, the boy with the bread. But until now, I still don't know why I did it just to save him and myself. Nothing would have happened, the bloodshed in the rebellion and my sister's death, if I had either ate the berries myself or sent an arrow at his heart. I would have lived with a broken heart to my dying day, but at least thousands of innocent people wouldn't have been killed in the war. Yeah, Prim. I should have done that to save you from being burned to ashes by the bombs crafted by Gale, my closest friend other than Peeta.

The cold-blooded plans of that monster President Snow forced me and Peeta into the Games once more during the Quarter Quell. Before I set foot into the jungle arena, I swore that I would keep Peeta, the friend that actually loved me with all his heart and even suffered a beating so that I and my family wouldn't starve, alive. My plan was going to work. But then the secretive and manipulative rebels, with Haymitch on their side, came in and scooped me up with Finnick and Beetee, living Peeta and the others to the cruel hands of the Capitol. The rest is history. But Peeta is now as hurt and cut as me. He was hijacked by the Capitol so that he could be turned into the monster they failed to turn him into in the earlier Games. But occasionally back at District 13, he used to scream obscenities at me, at they would knock him out with morphine. Monster or not, he is still the boy with the bread. Many times they would also have to knock me out too, as I would scream for him and try to get to him, to tell him how sorry I was, that I didn't end it all when I had the chance.

"Katniss?" Greasy Sae's old voice comes from the kitchen. "I'm going to the Hob. Are you coming with me?" Normally, I would have said no. I would be too busy thinking about my painful past, my lovely sister Prim and everything else that is slowly killing me inside. But I say yes. Greasy Sae looks sort of surprised, and then silently triumphant that at last there's some progress for my part. "Good." she says. "I''ll be gong in a few minutes. I need to get a basket and so on." Then the old woman shuffles off. I really need to thank her for sticking around to cook and wash for me as I'm not really steady yet. She's been good to me in so many ways. I know that I'll have to branch out and live on my own without needing Greasy Sae to do chores for me. She isn't my servant. I think about that most of the time.

I go to my room and open the wardrobe. Familiar clothes stand out. My father's hunting jacket. Some clothes that somewhat cross between the designs of the outfits of the 74th and 75th Hunger Games. However, the brave valiant patterns do not give me a leap of horror and dismay with the memories of those two hell-on-earth events. Instead, they give me a kind of hope, that I would be fine despite the thousand nightmares I would have all week, asleep or not. Every piece of garment has the mockingjay on it. The symbol that united the districts together so that we would be free from that cursed President Snow and the Hunger Games, despite many thousands losing their lives. Now, it is the symbol that keeps me living, for now. I guess I'll have to thank Cinna, who survived the torture in the Capitol and was rescued by the rebels on the last day of the war. He specially designed many of my clothes for me, to remind me that I could live again, without any fear.

I find myself wearing a grayish shirt with my father's old jacket over it, and a pair of dark long pants. I put on my hunting boots and walk with Greasy Sae out from the Victor's Village. I am awed by the sight of houses that look as modern and furnished as the one that I live in. Gone are the rickety shacks the people of District 12 lived in. Gone are the dark mines, in which my father died. Instead, a factory for medicine and a big hospital replaces them. I hear from Greasy Sae a few weeks ago that District 12 is now the main producer of medicine. As for coal to generate the country's electricity, Beettee, a dear friend that had suffered with me in the Games and in the Capitol when we were trying to burn down Snow's backyard, decided to turn to wind energy as an alternative. It wasn't hard for them to find a good windy place at District 2-the hill that used to be the Nut, the Capitol's ex-stronghold.

District 12 has recovered and moved on faster than me. Greasy Sae and I arrive at the new Hob, a sparkling and a more busier place than its predecessor that was torched long ago. Gone are the scanty and parched wares on grimy wooden shelves. Instead, plastic boxes stacked with fresh fruits, vegetables, meats that used to be as expensive as gold for us and even more brands of alcohol (good new for my old mentor Haymitch, who's still a drunk, unfortunately). The prices are much lower than I expect. A mother can bring back home a feast from the Hob for the family at this rate. Besides this abundance, food stalls await with steaming pots of soups and delicacies, just like the old times. But dog is not the only thing on the menu. I see the familiar green noodles I savored at my first Hunger Games being sold by a bald man. The lamb stew that was my favourite dish in the Capitol sits on a platter at a crowded table. Things have changed, really.

A few people recognise me and smile. I nod at them in return. Some of their smiles seem sympathetic. I can't help thinking whether they know what I have gone through as the Mockingjay. Just then, a bell starts ringing out of nowhere. Heads turn and hands drop whatever they are holding. The sound is familiar to my ears, as the bell has always sounded when a blaze is around the corner. The smell of burning reaches my nose. But it is not from Peeta's new bakery.

"Fire." I say to myself and leave Greasy Sae to see what's going on.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Katniss!" somebody shouts. I look behind in surprise, only to see Gale in an orange suit, wearing a helmet that looks similar to a Peacekeeper's, only that it has an orange visor. He holds a gun with a small cylinder connected to it, like a flame thrower. But I think this one sprays water. "You're back!" I say. "What are you doing here?" "I work as a fireman now, to extinguish blazes and so on. It's the third blaze in District 12 this month. I think the scorching weather is not helping. This fire looks big. We'll need all the help we can get." Somehow the thought of him inventing the weapons that killed my sister doesn't register in my mind. "OK. Where do I start?" I say. Just as Gale opens his mouth, a scream cuts through the smoky air.

"My baby! Oh no!" a woman as hysterical as Anne Cresta in the Reaping of the 75th Hunger Games breaks out from the crowd that is gathering around some burning buildings. Haymitch, who has somehow sobered up leaps out and pulls her away from the fierce flames. "Ma'm, it's dangerous! You're gonna get burnt. Let the firemen do their job, and they'll try to save your baby." he tried to console her. But the lady is sobbing non-stop and screaming endlessly for her child. It takes Gale and two others to help Haymitch to bring her out of harm's way. She is literally hitting Haymitch as he attempts to shush her. But my mind's not paying attention to that. Faint memories of that inferno, that made a burn on my calf and nearly caused me to be captured by the Careers sweep through my head. I can almost feel that burn morph on my leg out of the blue. But I don't break down as I have always done when such hated memories come to me. I know what to do.

"Gale!" I shout. He turns to me. I point at the flaming door. "Cover me." Gale's eyebrows raise so high. "Katniss, it's too dangerous! You're going-" This is where I snap. "Hey, look here Mr. Fireman. If you are not going to let me, the Mockingjay, or should I say ex-Mockingjay, as the war's bloody over, save a poor kid, then you better have the guts to collect his ashes by tomorrow!" Gale's face is turned into a mixture of fear, confusion and admiration. There's no time to lose. "OK, you'll go in, Catnip. Want a mask?" I nod and take one from him.

"Alright guys, keep clear. The Mockingjay's coming through!" Gale's rough voice sets the firemen cheering and shouting. Some in the crowd do the same. "Hey, just call me Catnip next time, OK?" I shout as he extinguishes the flames picking at the grey doorway with a blast from his tool. Then I plunge into the inferno with my face protected by the special mask Gale gave me.

I am astonished at how placid and cool am I. I thought the sight of flames would set me screaming with fear. But instead I laugh as I climb the blackish stairs and reach the first floor which looks like hell on earth. What used to be supposedly terrazzo floor is reduced to brimstone and flaming coal. Searing fragments constantly rain down and a few almost hit me. But I dodge them in time, only to see the remains of an electrical toaster blow up in front of me, sending sparks into my face. I have to release a shriek as I fall backwards awkwardly to the damaged wooden floorboards. Thankfully, they don't give way. I get up quickly and take a few deep breaths mentally, as the air here is worse than the air in the coal mines.

"Hello? Anyone here?" I shout. At first, nothing but the crackling and the roar of flames answers me. Then, out of the blue, a childish voice that almost emulates Prim's voice comes out from a nearby room. "Help me!" it screams. I look and see that the door to that room is locked. One kick turns it into smithereens. I take of my jacket and rush into the room. A young girl as young as Rue with brown skin and dark hair is crouching under a piano. For a moment, I could actually picture my friend Madge attempting to survive the destruction of the fire bombs dropped during the bombing of District 12 by hiding under the piano she used to play when I visit her. Coincidentally, they found her ashes in the piano room. Music doesn't always save you the men said.

"Are you OK?" I yell over the roaring flames. The child shivers with fear. Probably the strange mask I'm wearing is freaking her out. "It's alright. My name's Katniss. Katniss Everdeen. The Girl on Fire. You know me?" A flicker of recognition mixes with the fear in her eyes. She nods, anyway. "Good. What's your name?" "Sarah." the trembling girl says. "That's a beautiful name." I say. I wrap her in my father's jacket to protect her from the heat, which seems hotter than the inferno back in the Games. "I'm going to get you out of here. But you've got to be brave, Sarah. OK?" I say. "OK." she says in a small voice.

With that, I scoop her up and hurry out of the room, which is now being consumed by the wicked flames. But when we come to the stairs I get a rude shock. What used to be the stairs is now a heap of charred wood and broken marble. Well, it could be worse, as the building could have been higher than three stories. But this building is only two stories high, thankfully. Probably an old one, covered with coal dust and ready to be set ablaze anytime by the tiniest cinder. But I know I'll have to make a free-fall. "There's no stairs for us to go down, but I'll get you down," I say to the scared child. "We'll jump, just like a bird does before it flies away. But we aren't going to fly, are we?" To our surprise, we both laugh rather heartily for such a situation. Then we jump.

We tumble on the ash covered floor that are sprinkled with fragments of glass and wood. I try to compress a yelp from my mouth when a few shards pierce my leg. But I try not to show my pain as I have to be strong for Sarah. She just reminds me so much of Rue. I can't let her get toasted by the fire. It would be worse than a spear thrown by Marvel. I look at the door and horror comes to me when all I see is another heap of flaming debris, looking somewhat like the door to hell. A nearby door is virtually blown apart and flames surge in from the gaping hole. That is when I see the melting label above what used to be the door. It says 'wine store'.

"Nightlock." I say and leap for Sarah. I rip off my mask, force it on her face as she starts screaming and push her to the ground, covering her small body with mind to shield her from the blast of flames that's sure to follow.

The explosion that follows is what I have been expecting.

**Don't worry! I didn't end it yet! Read on...**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Peeta's story

"You have arrived at District 12." a pleasant automated voice comes out from a hidden speaker in the train. At last we have reached home. I stretch and yawn before getting up from my seat. It's been a long trip from District 4. A few days ago, I went there to visit Anne who is having a baby, named after his father for short, Finn. When I came to her lovely house at the sandy beach of District 4, she was really happy, singing to her child. How I wish Katniss could be really joyful like that. All she does nowadays is to stay at home, mourning for Prim or being harassed by nightmares when she dozes off. Or going to the woods to hunt on exceptionally bad days. But she doesn't shoot a deer. One time when I was looking for some root for a bread mixture I was making, I went further into the woods and saw her punching an oak tree with her bare bloody hands. She was screaming 'I'll kill you Snow! I'll kill you Gale!'. I thank the skies that Gale wasn't anywhere near at that time.

I tried to pacify her and calm her nerves. She just started crying. Tears came down in torrents and she just said 'Prim' over and over again. Poor Katniss, who saved me from a slow painful death by going for that feast in the Games. I had to carry her back because she just wouldn't budge. At least she seemed OK when I left District 12. She didn't want to go and see Anne although I invited her to. I guess when people mourn, they do it for a long time.

I take my bag and step off the train. I walk briskly to my bakery first to check things out since I've been gone for some time. It's still new, only three months old, from the time they laid the last brick. However, when I open the door, I see nobody except for the shelves of baked goods and Joseph, one of the assistants I hired recently. "Where's everyone?" I ask. Usually there would be lots of customers about buying bread or cheese buns. Cheese buns, Katniss's favourite. Perhaps I should get some for her later. She never refuses them.

Joseph, a man of a few words, just says 'arh' and points at a crumpled heap of ashes and smoldering rubble across the road. It looks worse than the burnt bread I tossed to Katniss the first time I saw her. "Another fire?" I say in disbelief. "Great. I've got to go." I leave my bag at the counter and rush to the crowd that is gathering around the remains of the charred building. Firemen are squirming around, carrying tools, burn victims, stretchers and a hysterical woman screaming 'my baby, my baby'. In fact, two have to carry her while another attempts to pacify her softly. I feel bad for her and hope her child has somehow been rescued by the firemen.

Then I see Gale Hawthorne in a fireman's gab, minus the helmet. He's scrambling through the blackish wreckage, shouting "Katniss! Katniss!" Katniss? The Girl on Fire? Did she purposely burnt the house down on her so that she could escape from her sorrows? Did she went visiting and somehow the kitchen blew up? Did she saw the fire in the first place and came in to save somebody? In my heart, I hope it's the third option that contributed to her being in a fire. "Gale!" I shout. He turns, perplexed. "What's happened?" I say rather breathlessly. "She went into the house when it was a fire to save a kid and all of a sudden it just blew! Damn the bloody alcohol stored there. Good thing it wasn't Haymitch's house that was on fire or else the entire Seam would have been vaporised in a thrice! With all that white wine! But now I don't know whether Katniss made it with the kid! This G-" He stops short in his oath, only to yell "Catnip! Catnip!" I don't shout frantically like him, but I rush over to the hand that is pocking out of a heap of rubble. I quickly start clearing rubble from the top. I don't care about the sharp splinters that make mini-cuts on my hands. Several strong men come to help me.

Within minutes, we have successfully cleared a lot of the wreckage to save the poor survivor. I hope he or she is still breathing. Wait a second...it's a she. It's Katniss.

The Girl on Fire, the Mockingjay lays motionless on the ground. Her dirt face and her ash-covered, but still smooth braid reminds me of her being airlifted by the hovercraft from the arena before I was captured. Her clothes are torn and blackened in twenty different places. Her eyes are closed, making her look as if she were sleeping. She looks better when she sleeps. At least she doesn't scowl. Well, she did when I pointed it out to her during our first Games.

"Look here! What's under her?" cries a burly man wearing a singlet. I gently push Katniss off, only to reveal a crying girl wearing a fireman mask. She is wrapped in the coat I recognise as Katniss's. I get it now. Katniss actually saved a child from being killed by the fire. The debris that could have killed the weak child injured Katniss instead. She sacrificed her mask for the child so that she would not be suffocated by the lack of oxygen and breath in the poisonous gas released by the flames. No sacrifice and act of courage could be greater than this. Besides, Katniss was still afraid of flames when I left to visit Anne. She refused to go near a candle lit in a thrift shop near the station.

Gale lifts the child up from Katniss's battered body. The hysterical owman I saw earlier appears on the scene. The look that comes on her face is priceless when she sees her child, well and alive. "Sarah!" she screams with a mother's love bursting from her lips. "Mommy!" the child squeals as Gale carries her to the woman. For a moment or two, they both just hug each other and cry. "I thought you were dead! But who saved you?" she says. Then they turn towards Katniss, who is being lifted onto a stretcher. "The Mockingjay." the child says in a broken voice.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Over back to Katniss, for now...**

I find myself in a green meadow filled with dandelions and daisies. A familiar bird flies past me. I am surprise to see that it is a mockingjay. What is it doing here, of all places? I forget to ask myself what is this place. I get up and decide to have a look around this fabulous place.

Everywhere I step, furry gentle creatures gambol away or scamper to me. A white rabbit hops towards me with its cute long ears waving oddly and brown eyes twinkling. I gingerly reach out to touch it. Then I hear the bleating of a goat. I look to my right and I am astonished to see Lady, Prim's old goat that was killed in the bombing. I used to wish that Buttercup, the ugly cat, was fried by the bombs instead. After all, he wasn't the one providing milk every day.

I have never seen a more peaceful and lovely creature like Lady. I had never taken a fancy to animals before except for that crazy lynx that followed me all day when I started hunting with Gale and that young deer I shot. But now, I admit I do. Nothing stops me from going to her and feeling the soft velvety neck of Lady. Another sound catches my attention and then I see her.

"Prim!" I cry. "Katniss!" my sister calls out. I've never seen her so happy, joyful and well before. She looked so different than the last time I saw her before she was turned into ashes by the bombs. The unmistakable duck tail is still there. I just run to her and hug her so tightly, not wanting to let go of the sister I missed very much. "I'm so sorry. So sorry. I couldn't save you." I say as tears come. "It's alright Katniss. I'm happy here, with Rue and dad." "They are here?" I say, astonished and happy at the same time. "Yes." Prim says. "The other Tributes like Cato and the rest are also here. But you should see Cato. He's a little skinny nowadays." I just laugh and cry at the same time and hug her.

But Prim has other ideas. She looks to her left and says, "I think you should meet with Him." "Who's Him? Is it dad?" I say. "Quite close." Prim says. I look and I see a figure so bright that I am nearly blinded. He must be standing in front of the sun, to be releasing light that is almost killing me. But I can see his handsome face. Finnick's smile would never contest the smile on that glowing face anytime. The man's eyes are so blue that they want to make you laugh and gasp at the same time. They are just filled with so much...love. That's how I can describe it.

His smile just makes me tremble, with a strange unearthly feeling erupting in me. I have never seen such a person before. "Who are you?" I ask. The man does not answer me. Instead, he reaches out his hands for me to see. My eyes widen when I see the wounds on his hands, looking as if Clove had been working on them with her knife. But the deepness of the wounds seem to remind me of nails. "Who are you?" I repeat. Then a bright flash of light overcomes my vision and I feel really sleepy...

When I come to, my eyes are so heavy with slumber that I can't open them. But I can hear sounds and voices. I can hear a kind of monitor making some beeping noises next to me. Someone seems to be seating next to me. He's talking very quietly. I think I can hear him say, "she's waking up now, I think." I try to open my eyes to look around me, but I do so very slowly. Somebody must have put my body to sleep. But then I manage to.

The first person I see is Peeta. He smiles at me. "Hey, Katniss." he says in a voice that gives me some warmth. I try to sit up, but my body is not working. I cannot move a thing. Except my mouth, thankfully. "I can't move." I say. "Yeah, because your body went into shock because of the debris and wreckage that hit you." Peeta says gravely. "But you're fine. You should be out of here in a week." "A week? It's a long time." I say. He presses a button near my bed, which raises me into a sitting position. "Yeah. You have been out for a week too. You must be hungry." Peeta says. "I brought something for you." As he rummages in a bag, I look around gingerly. It's a big ward, and I'm not the only patient in here. Good, at least they'll not be lonely at night when I'm screaming away from my nightmares. Three other white pristine beds are located around the room. One is not occupied, but the other two are. A thin youth on the first bed that looks younger than me is reading a magazine. The second bed holds a very familiar person, with a beard about two days old and messy hair. He's also reading a book titled _How To be An Alcoholic and Yet Not Get Drunk. _

"Haymitch?" I say, surprised. He looks at me and grins a wry grin at me. "Oh, it's you, Katniss. Done knocking yourself out?" "Hey, you said that to me in the hovercraft when you took me out of the arena!" I declare with a scowl. He smirks and says,"Yeah, maybe. Don't worry, girl. The kid you saved is well and kicking. And too noisy, I must say. At least she didn't wake you up, because you were too knocked out." With that he starts laughing pretty hard until he starts coughing. "What's happened to you?" I ask curiously. "Just a little accident, involving Buttercup and the new car I got." "You got drunk?" I ask.

"Sort of. You see, my driving instructor's on the bottle like me. Halfway through my driving lesson, he offers me a drop. Turns out that Buttercup was taking a stroll across the road at the same time and I avoided him in time. But we went into a tree. You know the rest." He points to his left leg in a plaster. "And it was only after I helped out at that fire." The thought of my miserable mentor Haymitch struggling to press the brake before he hit the tree makes me want to laugh like a lunatic so much that I have to hide under the blankets. I can't use my hands to do so, they're out of order.

Haymitch just smirks again. "Whatever. At least I'm alive, for now. But some crazy nurse put me on an alcoholic support group after she checked out my chart. Bet you I'll be a weirdo for a long time." Just then, Peeta takes out a container with some chicken porridge in it. "Want some, Haymitch?" he offers. Before he can answer, a nurse pops in and says,"Mr. Mellark, don't offer him that. It has chicken, and it'll add to his cholesterol levels, which are going to hit the ceiling. Besides," she plunks down a plate of lettuces and raw carrots in front of the gaping Haymitch. "the girl, sorry. Katniss, needs to eat up. She's quite thin. She'll need everything she can get her teeth on to gain weight." Then she disappears. As I see her go, scowling at her mentioning my body, Haymitch bursts out laughing again until his starts coughing. Then he turns miserable, so miserable that I have to laugh. My turn to make fun of him at his expense.

"Great. A whole pile of raw vegetables. It'll never go down." he groans as he nibbles on a not so delectable leaf.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Peeta smiles as Haymitch force himself to swallow the rubbery carrots. He turns to me and hands me a spoon. "Katniss, can you hold this and eat?" he says gently. I don't know whether my hands can work. At least they aren't bandaged. No wounds on them, I guess. But the moment I touch the spoon he hands to me, I realize that I'm in big trouble. My fingers feel like jelly after such a long period of inactivity. "Peeta, I can't hold the spoon." I say curtly, frustrated at my failure to do such a simple thing.

Peeta looks concerned. "Never mind. I'll feed you." If I weren't strapped to a bed, I would have said, "Seriously? I'm not a baby!" But instead, I nod silently. The next few minutes are rather idyllic. It's been a long time I was feed by Peeta since the time I was injured at the Games and he fed me grosling. He feeds me spoonful by spoonful, slowly as he did in the Games. The porridge he must have cooked tastes different. Perhaps he put in some grosling, maybe?

When I've eaten enough, he wipes my mouth and keeps the container. He takes my hands into his and looks at me in the eye. I would have start feeling uncertain and confused if he did this before. But instead, I feel delightfully warm inside me. "Katniss?" he asks in a sort voice. "Yes?" I say. "Why did you save that girl?" I think he expects me to give an answer that concerns Rue or Prim. But I say, "I was there and someone had to do something. You would too, if you were there." "It was dangerous. You could have been killed," Peeta says. "Besides, you told me once that you were afraid of fire." That was true. A few weeks ago, I was taken ill and Peeta had to come over to take care of me because Greasy Sae was out of the district for some tradespeople seminar. Day by day, he was there with a bowl of steaming broth to warm my deprived stomach or a basin to be ready when I started retching. He was there, his hand holding mine, when I started hallucinating and seeing things at midnight. I would say things that I would normally keep to myself, like my fear of fire. After all, it was the monster that ate Prim.

"Yes. But I guess when I see that I have to save someone, my fear just vanishes." I say it, secretly astonished that I have managed to say such a thing without a tear in my eyes. I feel brittle, but Strong inside me. I guess all that fighting, tearing down Snow's backyard in the rebellion, and the Hunger Games, kind of toughened me up. But I guess there are worse games to play for those parts.

I am taken aback when he asks me gravely, "But what if you didn't make it in that fire? Like I said, it was dangerous. You could have been killed..." his voice trails away. Emotion is cracking up his voice. "I know. But someone had to do something." I say tenderly. I life my weak hand and put it at his cheek. It feels soft, after months of recovery and rest from such torment. "You know I can't live without you." Peeta says. I draw my head close to him. "I know. Me too." I say and I lean in. When my lips meet his, that sense of want that I experienced when we kissed in the cave returns to me. I kiss Peeta slowly, but hungrily. He doesn't resist me and savours every kiss with enthusiasm. We only stop when we here a voice. "To the guy called Haymitch or whatever, please stop the two lovebirds from ruining my book." It's the young guy at the end of the ward. Haymitch grins and turns to us. Peeta breaks away and says, "You need to rest, Katniss." I settle back onto the bed comfortably, just as the nurse comes back with a bottle of sleep syrup. But I don't need it as I find that I am exhausted all of a sudden. As the nurse removes Haymitch's plate and praises him for emptying his scanty plate (Peeta secretly ate half of it earlier to help Haymitch, as usual), I turn to look at his healthy features and content face. As I find myself sinking into the world of slumber, I whisper to him, "Stay with me, Peeta."

"Always." he whispers back as everything darkens gently.


End file.
